London, UK - 20 December 2006, 14:11 GMT - Within
50 years we might find ourselves standing alongside the next generation
of sentient machines -- artificially intelligent robots -- in the voting
booth. Far from being extracts from the extreme fringe spectrum of science
fiction, the conceptual thought that we may one day give sentient machines
the kind of rights traditionally reserved for humans is raised in a British
government-commissioned report which seeks to provide a wide-angle glimpse
into the future.

ATCA: The Asymmetric Threats Contingency Alliance
is a philanthropic expert initiative founded in 2001 to resolve complex
global challenges through collective Socratic dialogue and joint executive
action to build a wisdom based global economy. Adhering to the doctrine
of non-violence, ATCA addresses opportunities and threats arising from
climate chaos, radical poverty, organised crime & extremism, advanced
technologies -- bio, info, nano, robo & AI, demographic skews, pandemics
and financial systems. Present membership of ATCA is by invitation only
and has over 5,000 distinguished members from over 100 countries: including
several from the House of Lords, House of Commons, EU Parliament, US Congress
& Senate, G10's Senior Government officials and over 1,500 CEOs from
financial institutions, scientific corporates and voluntary organisations
as well as over 750 Professors from academic centres of excellence worldwide.

Dear ATCA Colleagues; dear IntentBloggers

[Please note that the views presented by individual contributors
are not necessarily representative of the views of ATCA, which is neutral.
ATCA conducts collective Socratic dialogue on global opportunities and
threats.]

Within 50 years we might find ourselves standing alongside the next
generation of sentient machines -- artificially intelligent robots --
in the voting booth. Far from being extracts from the extreme fringe
spectrum of science fiction, the conceptual thought that we may one
day give sentient machines the kind of rights traditionally reserved
for humans is raised in a British government-commissioned report which
seeks to provide a wide-angle glimpse into the future.

Visions of the status of robots around 2056 have emerged from one of
the 270 forward-looking papers sponsored by Sir David King, the UK government's
chief scientist. The paper covering robots' rights was written by a
UK partnership of Outsights and Ipsos MORI. The idea will not surprise
science fiction aficionados. It was widely explored by Dr Isaac Asimov,
one of the foremost science fiction writers of the 20th century. He
wrote of a society where robots were fully integrated and essential
in day-to-day life. In his system, the 'three laws of robotics' governed
machine life in descending priority: robots could not injure humans,
they must obey orders and they should protect their own existence. Robots
and machines are at present classed as inanimate objects without rights
or duties and if artificial intelligence becomes ubiquitous, the report
argues, there may be calls for humans' rights to be extended to them.
It is also logical that such rights may be balanced with citizens' duties,
including voting, paying tax and compulsory military service.

The Horizon Scan report argues that if 'correctly managed', this new
world of robots' rights could lead to increased labour output and greater
prosperity. "If granted full rights, states will be obligated to
provide full social benefits to them including income support, housing
and possibly robo-healthcare to fix the machines over time," it
says. But it points out that the process has casualties and the first
one may be the environment, especially in the areas of energy and waste.

The robot report is part of a challenging set of research papers looking
up to 50 years ahead, and commissioned by the UK Government's Horizon
Scanning Centre, is being released today with input from Outsights-Ipsos
MORI partnership and the American-based Institute for the Future (IFTF).
The two Scans -- entitled Sigma and Delta -- look forward at emerging
trends, potential new issues, opportunities and threats, and the possible
implications for society. The Delta Scan contains 100 short papers exploring
expert views on the future in science and technology. The broader Sigma
Scan contains 146 short papers drawing comprehensively on current futures
work, which is research aimed at identifying future issues and trends
across the entire public policy spectrum.

The UK Government's Chief Scientific Adviser Sir David King, who oversees
the work of the Horizon Scanning Centre, said: These Scans are tools
for government to identify risks and opportunities in the future. We're
not in the business of predicting the future, but we do need to explore
the broadest range of different possibilities to help ensure government
is prepared in the long-term and considers issues across the spectrum
in its planning. The Scans are aimed at stimulating debate and critical
discussion to enhance government's short and long term policy and strategy.
The Scans reflect the Government's commitment to forward-looking strategic
approaches based on good evidence and analysis. However, the Scans are
independent and do not constitute government policy.

The Horizon Scanning Centre (HSC) is part of the Foresight Directorate
within the Office of Science and Innovation (OSI). The OSI is headed
by Sir David King, the Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government
and is situated within the DTI. Other, perhaps more prescient issues
covered by Foresight include energy policy, climate chaos and environmental
degradation, demographic skews, and stem cell research. Issues from
the two Scans have already been used in the Horizon Scanning Centre's
work across government, including:

. Scan outputs have informed the UK Treasury's recently published 'Long
Term Challenges' paper describing horizon scanning as a 'vital tool';
. They have been used by the Health & Safety Executive to inform
scenarios on the future of workplace health and safety; and
. In the UK-Asian Trade 2020 project, part of the Asia Task Force initiative
launched by the Chancellor. The Scan provided the context and broad
framework for workshops in five Asian countries.

[ENDS]

We look forward to your further thoughts, observations and views. Thank
you.

Best wishes

For and on behalf of DK Matai, Chairman, Asymmetric Threats Contingency
Alliance (ATCA)

ATCA: The Asymmetric Threats Contingency Alliance
is a philanthropic expert initiative founded in 2001 to resolve complex global
challenges through collective Socratic dialogue and joint executive action
to build a wisdom based global economy. Adhering to the doctrine of non-violence,
ATCA addresses opportunities and threats arising from climate chaos, radical
poverty, organised crime & extremism, advanced technologies -- bio, info,
nano, robo & AI, demographic skews, pandemics and financial systems. Present
membership of ATCA is by invitation only and has over 5,000 distinguished
members from over 100 countries: including several from the House of Lords,
House of Commons, EU Parliament, US Congress & Senate, G10's Senior Government
officials and over 1,500 CEOs from financial institutions, scientific corporates
and voluntary organisations as well as over 750 Professors from academic centres
of excellence worldwide.